Mirakel Rakel

Hi. I'm moving to Finland next spring, and because I garden a whole lot, I was just wondering if anyone could tell me of a good variety of pumpkins, if any, that are able to survive well in Finland? Somebody recently told me about the great Hokkaido pumpkin, which is supposed to be able to grow in Scandinavia very well, provided that it has a sunny, well-drained, kind of raised-up area in which to grow. Hokkaido pumpkins also need about four feet of space in which to grow, apparently...Has anyone here ever tried growing those Hokkaido pumpkins, anyway? Can anyone tell me of some different kinds of vegetables and perhaps even fruit trees that are able to grow in Scandinavia? I've lived in Finland before and so I'm very familiar with the weather patterns, but in all the time I've spent there in the past, I've not been able to get much gardening done.

cia007

You might check out some Alaskan gardening forums or articles. The key to growing up north is to pick things that require a short growing season-- think of things that generally do well in cooler weather like peas, cabbage, beets, lettuce, etc. If growing tomatoes, you might need some growing aids to warm things up- or even a greenhouse and some grow lights.